End of a state authority leads to layoffs, labor boycott of state fair

All candidates for statewide office in Albany promise (or threaten) reform to state agencies and authorities, and the labor situation at the New York State Fair is a preview of what happens when the state dismantles administrative structures dating back to the Great Depression.

Last year, the Legislature dissolved the Industrial Exhibit Authority, set up to handle federal money provided in the New Deal era to build and improve buildings at the State Fairgrounds in Geddes. At the time, state representatives made incorrect predictions about the effect that dissolving the IEA might have on the Fair’s employees. According to the Syracuse Post-Standard:

A spokesperson for the state agriculture department said at the time that there would be no layoffs and the public would not notice a difference in the fair’s entertainment and exhibits.

The State Fair laid off 20 year-round workers back in May, and the Syracuse Post-Standard reports that instead of hiring union workers for seasonal jobs, the fair is hiring directly for less pay. Workers represented by the Plumbers and Steamfitters union earned about $47 per hour (including benefits) at the fair. The state is looking to hire people to perform the same work, and other skilled trades, for $17.78/hour this year.

Traditionally, Labor Day is the last day of the fair, and the Greater Syracuse Labor Council holds a parade. They’ve asked members to boycott the fair and the parade.

Boycotting the state fair is a big deal to people near Syracuse. It’s a bleak, unimaginable, Gianelli-less end to the summer and clearly a last resort. (I’m not entirely kidding.)